As more people spend time inside, indoor air quality is becoming a pressing issue. Here are a few tips from experts recently highlighted at Curbed.com.
Use the vent when cooking. “One of the big things we’re starting to understand a little more is the problems with cooking,” Adriano L. Martinez, an environmental lawyer who tweets about air quality issues as @LASmogGuy, told Curbed.com. “A hood and fan that siphons toxic fumes out of your kitchen can make a big difference, even if you’re just boiling water. Try to run the fan every time you’re cooking.”
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/04/08/how-to-get-cleaner-air-at-home

Closets, energy efficiency, and laundry rooms appear to be home builders’ top priorities in the single-family homes they’re constructing this year.
The National Association of Home Builders conducts a nationwide survey each year to find out what home features builders are most likely to include in a typical new home. The walk-in closet in the master bedroom was the most popular home feature builders cited, according to the survey. Energy-efficient features were popular, too, such as efficient lighting, programmable thermostat, Energy Star–rated appliances, and windows. Kitchens were most likely to have a central island, a walk-in pantry, and granite countertops, the NAHB survey shows.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/04/07/top-new-home-features-in-2020

Borrowing costs inched down for the second consecutive week. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.33%, Freddie Mac reports.
“Mortgage rates have drifted down for two weeks in a row and that drop reflects improvements in market liquidity and sentiment,” says Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist. “While the market has stabilized relative to prior weeks, home buyer demand has declined in response to current economic conditions. The good news is that the pending economic stimulus is on the way and will provide support for both consumers and businesses.”
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/04/03/mortgage-rates-move-lower-this-week

How to Combat Loneliness Around Social Distancing

April 2, 2020

With shelter-in-place orders and social distancing restrictions becoming more common, people are seeing less of each other. This “social recession,” aimed at controlling the outbreak of COVID-19, also is heightening a sense of loneliness. Connecting with neighbors and others may be more challenging, but you can still find opportunities to “dig deep and get connected,” Erin Peavey, an architect and design researcher on health and wellness for architecture firm HKS, told Curbed.com.

Twenty-seven percent of Americans over age 60 live alone. AARP is offering suggestions to how people can still connect, such as sending a letter, creating a virtual book club, playing board games, or ordering a hobby box. Nextdoor.com, a neighbor-based social network, has launched Help Maps and Groups, in which local residents can assist at-risk members of the community by running errands or bringing aid. Meetup is offering guidelines on how to host online-only gatherings and events.

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An article at realtor.com® also suggests several ideas, such as curbside drop-offs for elderly neighbors, writing letters to a local nursing home, or becoming a virtual volunteer. Kathy Green started a Facebook group to organize residents in her hometown of Birmingham, Ala., who could sew or distribute homemade masks to those who needed them. The group quickly grew to a crew of 1,300 volunteers. 

Also, consider creating inspiring window art to bring cheer to your neighborhood or sponsoring a block party with social distancing guidelines in mind. For example, in Eugene, Ore., neighbors arranged a dinner party from their front yards. They ordered pizza to eat on their front steps, and they remained separate from one another but were still able to connect. “We just wanted a way to communicate with one another when we can’t give each other hugs,” Mary Lou Vignola told the Register-Guard. “Just to be social when we’re being isolated.”

Supportive social networks are key to lessening the stress of the current situation, Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a professor who has conducted research on the significant long-term effects of a lack of social connection, told Curbed.com. Reaching out to isolated members of the community with a text or video call can be very meaningful, she says. “When we are facing some kind of stressor or threat in our environment, the perception that we can turn to others for help and rely on them—and that they have our backs—lets us cope with them much better,” she told Curbed.com. “While we can’t be physically present right now, we can check in with people via email or text. Reaching out to people, asking how they’re doing, and listening to them—all these things can be beneficial.”Source: “Coronavirus and Loneliness: How to Reach Out to Neighbors Who Need It,” Curbed.com (March 26, 2020) and “8 Heartwarming Ways Neighbors Can Help Each Other Through the Coronavirus Crisis,” realtor.com® (March 27, 2020)

Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on contract signings, rose 2.4% month over month and 9.4% year over year in February—a fresh sign that the underpinnings of the real estate market are strong, even as the coronavirus outbreak poses significant challenges, the National Association of REALTORS® reported Monday. All four major regions of the country saw an increase in pending home sales last month.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/30/february-pending-sales-reveal-healthy-housing-demand

As mortgage rates hover near historical lows, homeowners have eyed taking advantage of them to lower their monthly payments. Refinancing dollar volume was up a whopping 138% in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared to a year ago and was at the highest level since the first quarter of 2013, according to a new report from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate research firm. That report also was before mortgage rates took a record-breaking dip at the beginning of March, when Freddie Mac reported the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.29%.
Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/27/top-markets-where-owners-are-most-eager-to-lower-mortgage-payments

150 Random Fun Facts That Will Surprise You

https://perrella.com/1936-2/

Lawmakers and the White House came to an agreement in the wee hours Wednesday morning on a nearly $2 trillion stimulus package intended to boost the economy and rush financial support to businesses and individuals during the COVID-19 outbreak. The package that leaders so far have agreed upon includes a direct, one-time payment of $1,200 to be sent to most adults. It also includes infusing $300 billion in relief toward small businesses, as well as a half-trillion-dollar fund to support companies that may be struggling from mass closures as the nation works to reduce the virus’ spread.

The package includes a provision that the National Association of REALTORS® advocacy team has strongly worked alongside Congress to achieve—an inclusion of unemployment aid that also would apply to independent contractors, a category that traditionally is not included in unemployment laws but one that many real estate professionals fall into.

Continue… https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/25/congress-reaches-deal-on-2-trillion-stimulus-package

The Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to provide alternative appraisal requirements and employment verifications on loans the agencies service through May 17. The guidance is in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
“To allow for homes to be bought, sold, and refinanced as our nation deals with the challenges of the coronavirus, [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] will leverage appraisal alternatives to reduce the need for appraisers to inspect the interior of a home for eligible mortgages,” the FHFA said in a statement.
Continue…https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/03/24/mortgage-giants-ease-appraisal-requirements

How to Disinfect a Home Correctly

March 17, 2020

Real estate pros are taking disinfectant wipes to home showings and in their car to clean frequently touched surfaces as they interact with clients to help slow the spread of COVID-19. But are you disinfecting correctly?

HouseLogic.com reports that the best cleaners are either a bleach solution or a 70% alcohol solution. “Follow this bleach recipe: 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon of water, or 4 teaspoons of bleach per quart of water,” the site advises, reminding readers to properly ventilate while disinfecting with bleach. The site also notes that bleach can expire, so check the bottle’s expiration date, and never mix bleach with anything other than water.

If you don’t have bleach, use 70% rubbing alcohol, which is already diluted, HouseLogic says. Disinfecting wipes use an ammonium compound, which could allow viruses to become resistant over time. “Disinfection isn’t instantaneous,” Erica Marie Hartman, an environmental microbiologist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., told HouseLogic. “[For a bleach solution], you want to leave it on the surface for 10 minutes before wiping it off. “

Allow for “dwell time,” agrees an article at Apartment Therapy that features an interview with microbiologists. Disinfecting solutions need to remain on the surface for a certain amount of time to be effective. That can vary by product. For example, Clorox Wipes instructions advise treating a surface “using enough wipes for the treated surface to remain visibly wet for four minutes.” Other disinfectants, including bleach, have their own instructions for proper use. Be sure to check the bottle.

Also, disinfectants don’t provide lasting protection. If a sick person touches the surface right after you clean it, new germs will be left there. “The reality is that bacteria are complex organisms, and the vast majority of people don’t understand the intricate mechanisms that power them, which leads to them underestimating just how easily they can be reintroduced and quickly multiply on an unprotected surface,” says Morgan Brashear, the scientific communications manager at Proctor & Gamble.

However, there is such a thing as over-disinfecting surfaces too. Visit Apartment Therapy to learn more.Source: “How to Disinfect Your Home in the Time of Coronavirus,” Houselogic.com (March 16, 2020); “3 Things Everyone Gets Wrong About Disinfectants,” Apartment Therapy (March 16, 2020)Comment